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Thor's 15 Most Godly Villains, Ranked From Least To Most Powerful

Thor, the God of Thunder, and one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, is a hero unlike any other. Many millennia ago the All-Father Odin wooed Gaea, the Earth goddess. Thor was born out of their union. The strongest Asgardian, second to only his father, the God of Thunder’s power quickly became known throughout the cosmos. He’s fought characters like the Hulk and the Silver Surfer with his bare hands. All-but immortal, Thor is impervious to most earthly weapons, and has trained for millennia in hand-to-hand combat. Armed with the enchanted hammer Mjolnir, the weapon boosts Thor’s already awesome power. When combined, they can control the weather, rain down lighting on his foes, creating portals, fly at faster-than-light speeds, and discharge massive energy attacks.

With such awesome power, the only villains who could hope to challenge Thor are those who are his equal or greater. Thor has defeated, and been defeated by some of the worst and vilest the universe has to offer. In spite of it all, Thor perseveres. There’s a reason why Thor is the hero of the story, with his own comic book and string of feature films. Today at CBR we’re looking at Thor’s godliest villains and ranking them in power!

15 THE EXECUTIONER

The Asgardian Skurge, also known as the Executioner, was a warrior of Asgard. Thanks to the alluring nature of the Enchantress, he’d often team up with her and together they would fight Thor. Skurge may not have been the brightest soul, as he was nothing more than the plaything to Enchantress, but he was incredibly loyal and dedicated to defeating Thor. To that end he’d even team up with the Masters of Evil once or twice, though each union wasn’t fruitful.

Though Skurge is nowhere near the toughest opponent Thor has ever faced, the Executioner’s strength put him almost on par with Thor and makes him a worthy challenge for the God of Thunder. Skurge’s greatest asset, aside from his fighting skill, is his axe. The axe has the unique ability to cleave interdimensional portals and can even slice away magic and illusions.

14 MALEKITH

If you were looking for a villain more devious than Loki and with strength enough to occasionally match Thor, then you’d have to look no further than the evil dark elf Malekith. Malekith is the ruler of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim. A sinister and dangerous creature, Malekith often cackles like a madman at the mere thought of killing his enemies in ghastly ways!

Malekith is cold, calculating, and kills with a devil’s abandon.

The elf has no probably murdering or torturing anyone and everyone who gets in the way of his Machiavellian plans. A practitioner of lethal Dark Faerie magic, when Malekith puts his mind to it, he can use his magic to nearly any effect he desires. When his own strength or mastery of magic isn’t enough, he’ll manipulate those around him to meet his goals.

13 RAGNAROK

If you were ever curious about what would happen if Thor went and insane and lost any reservation about killing people, you’d end up with the cyborg known as Ragnarok. He is a cyborg clone of Thor who was created by Reed Richards and Tony Stark during the early days of Marvel’s first Civil War. Using the DNA from Thor, the original purpose of Ragnarok was to assist the Pro-registration forces.

It didn’t exactly go to plan. Though Ragnarok possessed many of Thor’s abilities, he possessed none of the thunder god’s humanity and heroism. It made for a deadly creation that went on to kill Goliath with a blast from his artificial hammer. Though Hercules eventually destroyed him, he’d be remade, and became more insane than ever before, blaming Thor for the state of Asgard, which at the time wasn’t particularly good.

12 ULIK

The most powerful and deadliest of the species known as the Rock Trolls, Ulik is one of Thor’s greatest enemies. Unlike many opponents Thor faces. Ulik can give as good as he can take. His hide makes him impervious to conventional forms of attack and he’s even beaten the Thunder God once or twice. Though the troll might not possess many fancy powers, he doesn’t seem to require them. He wears a form of metallic brass knuckles that add extra weight and powers. Later, Ulik was given weapons made from the same forge that created Mjolnir. He also became the lead in Loki's attack on Asgard and was instrumental in that regard.

After Thor “died” during "Fear Itself", Ulik temporarily replaced the God of Thunder, using illusions to mask his identity. Loki later found him out and helped get Ulik ousted.

11 ENCHANTRESS

Amora the Enchantress is the one of the most powerful sorcerers in all of Asgard. She’s studied longer and harder than almost anyone else; that training turned Amora into a deadly weapon. Amora is one of Thor’s most lethal opponents, not just on account of her vast power set, but for her infatuation with him. At her core, Amora is in love with Thor. That said, she also maintains the thinking that if she can’t have him, no one can.

The Enchantress, despite her frail frame, is not one to be messed with. She’s beaten the demon Nightmare in his own dimension and repelled Doctor Strange’s Eye of Agamotto. Though she can fire powerful energy blasts or create terrifying spells, Amora favors manipulating her opponents with her beauty, having used her magical prowess to ensure no man or woman, be they immortal or otherwise, save Thor, can resist her.

10 HELA

Hela, as seen in the relatively recent Thor: Ragnarok movie, is the Asgardian Goddess of Death. She sends a shiver down the spines of any who hear her name. Hela came to being when the Norns, the three Asgardian goddesses of fate, foretold she would be a great danger to all of Asgard, Odin couldn’t have such a threat in his presence, so he sentenced her to rule over Hel.

Understandably, Hela wasn’t happy with the arrangement and has since tried to claim as many Asgardian souls as possible, most notably Thor’s.

Hela has incredible magic that she can use to awesome effect. She can time travel, astral project, and even fire bolts of power that can kill immortals. The ability that makes her truly terrifying is her Death Touch and her control over life and death.

9 LOKI

The half-brother of Thor, Loki Laufeyson, began his career as one of the most powerful villains in Marvel Comics. When he first arrived on the scene, he was practically unstoppable. For a hero like Thor, with a mighty hammer and impressive strength, he would often find his match in his half-brother. Loki bested Thor on multiple occasions. The God of Evil was strong enough to destroy a building with a single punch and he wielded deadly magic that him all the more dangerous.

Through the usage of magic, Loki possessed telekinesis, he could teleport, time travel, hypnotize, shapeshift, bring inanimate objects to life, and generate powerful blasts of magic that could hurt the Silver Surfer, a being fueled by the Power Cosmic. In recent years, Loki’s power has been watered down substantially, but we haven’t forgotten the good old days!

8 LAUFEY AND THE FROST GIANTS

The Frost Giants are one of Thor’s oldest enemies. Time and time again they have laid siege to Asgard and time and time again Thor has been there to stop them. Towering creatures with insane strength and even occasionally nastier magic, it’s always a dark day whenever the Frost Giants appear on anybody’s doorstep. Descended from Ymir, the first Frost Giant and an immortal being, it’s a blessing they aren’t an especially brainy species.

As for Laufey, he is the king of the Frost Giants and also the rightful father of Loki. Though Loki killed Laufey thanks to some time travel, the dark elf Malekith resurrected him. Laufey, similar to many Frost Giants, has very few weaknesses. Incredibly strong, he has the power to control elements like ice and the weather itself.

7 THE SERPENT

The brother to Odin, the All-Father, Cul Borson is otherwise referred to as the Serpent. An incredibly powerful god, he’s the living embodiment of fear. Cul was responsible for the event "Fear Itself". During the event, Odin feared his own brother so much that he fled the Earth, taking the rest of his Asgardians, and prepared to raze the planet to make sure Cul couldn’t a foothold in its people and boost his power to greater heights.

Nearly as mighty as Odin, Cul can defeat almost any mortal he encounters. He once ripped Captain America’s shield to pieces, and created a slew of magical hammers to empower various heroes and villains and turn them into his subjects. Cul can teleport foes away, once created his own Asgard, reanimated the dead, and even turn into a giant serpent if he’s feeling fanciful.

6 THE DESTROYER

While the Destroyer might not be an actual person per se, that hasn’t prevented it from being one of Thor’s most destructive and powerful adversaries. The Destroyer Armor is basically a wearable Mjolnir and was created by Odin to protect Asgard and do battle with the Fourth Host of Celestials. The armor is fueled by portions of powers from All-Fathers like Zeus, Odin, and other gods, making it immeasurably powerful.

The Armor was forged out of mystery metal that is stronger even than the metal Mjolnir is made from.

Unfortunately, since it lacks a mind, the Destroyer has been compelled to try and kill Thor on multiple occasions. In these instances it becomes a matter of defeating the puppeteer, rather than the puppet. The Destroyer armor has defeated Thor, both the Thor Odinson and Jane Foster versions, and even Hulk.

5 KURSE

There are few otherworldly beings that can defeat Thor in a one-on-one fight. However, that hasn’t stopped the monstrous juggernaut known as Kurse from defeating Thor numerous times. Many might not know the following, but there have several Kurses throughout the years and they’ve all been Dark Elves. Each one, especially Algrin the Strong, the original Kurse, boast ridiculous physical strength. Algrin was so powerful he defeated Beta Ray Bill, Thor, and Loki. Thanks to the Beyonder, Kurse was made even stronger by way of magical enhancements.

If you want to get technical, Kurse is roughly four times stronger than Thor. That may not sound impressive, but when you’re dealing with people who can shatter planets, a multiplier of four is terrifying. With his only weakness being iron, Thor has to pull out all the stops, including using his Belt of Power, to take on the malevolent Dark Elf.

4 PERRIKUS AND THE DARK GODS

Rarely has Odin of all people been completely annihilated by a foe. Perrikus and his band of Dark Gods did just that. The Dark Gods are the evil opposites of the Asgardians and every one of them is stupid powerful. Perrikus once enslaved Odin and the entirety of Asgard. With all his friends being held hostage, Thor went to rescue them where he was greeted by power he’d rarely encountered. Diving into battle head-on Thor is little match for Perrikus.

Things go from bad to worse when the Dark God does the unthinkable and slices through Thor’s hammer with one stroke of his blade. In so doing, Thor is depowered and also enslaved. Thor eventually escapes and is forced to ally himself with the Destroyer armor and Hercules. Together, the threesome is able to free the Asgardians, Odin included, and beat back the Dark Gods.

3 THE MIDGARD SERPENT

According to Norse legend, the World Serpent, or Jormungand, was the son of Loki and the sorceress Angerboda. Perhaps the largest foe Thor has ever stared down, the Midgard Serpent can, and has, completely encircled Midgard. Forever an enemy of Asgard, it was prophesized that during Ragnarok, Thor and the Midgard Serpent are destined to kill each other in battle.

The Midgard Serpent is a divine creature with vast and virtually limitless power. It cannot be hurt or stopped by conventional means He’s more than a match for Thor and his mere movements are enough to cause tidal waves and earthquakes. His enormous stature alone put him leagues above most beings. It doesn’t help matters that the Midgard Serpent also has deadly poison capable of killing most Asgardians, coming out his gigantic fangs.

2 GALACTUS

The Devourer of Worlds, Galactus’ might has become a fabled legend in and of itself. The last of his kind, Galactus survived the Big Bang and as a result, not only became infused with nearly limitless Cosmic Power, but he forever hungers for sustenance. Sadly, for everyone in the universe, he acquires said sustenance by eating planets. A horrifying entity, Galactus possesses an irksome array of powers, including creating wormholes and reshaping reality, making him all the deadlier Galactus’ insatiable hunger has brought him to Earth’s doorstep a couple times.

While the Fantastic Four usually deal with the threat, occasionally the duty is to delegated to Thor and Asgard. In fact, Odin and Galactus have a rivalry that would eventually pass on to Thor and Galactus. Once Thor became the All-Father, he’d battle it out with the Devourer thousands of years in the future.

1 SURTUR

The Lord of Muspelheim and the King of the Fire Giants, Surtur is a foe unlike any Thor has battled. A colossal figure, Surtur is a demon that is considered the ultimate threat to Asgard. With his astonishingly powerful Twilight Sword, Surtur is more a force of nature that can never be truly stopped.

On occasion, he’s faced down Thor and Odin, seemingly killing the All-Father at one point and easily shrugging off Thor’s God Blast, his strongest attack.

Surtur, who is just as old, if not older, as Odin, spends most of his time sitting back and awaiting the end of time so that he can kill the remaining sentient beings in the universe. With amazing powers that are seemingly unending, though Odin has imprisoned the malevolent deity before, whenever Surtur does appear, the ensuing fight revolves around locking him away, rather than trying to defeat him in combat.